Off the Gus bus

[SDZ_Hog]

http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/auburn-football/ricardo-louis-comments-coaches/

[Hogfan46]

Ouch!

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/mdbAU/status/726591491901018116

Ricardo Louis ‏@GuttaManRick Apr 30

I have WAY too much respect for the AU staff and AU family to say anything negative. I apologize to the AU family for the miscommunication

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/aldotcomSports/status/727850305652723713

Scarblog: f you read the words of Gus Malzahn, they should be dancing in the streets on the Plains. The following quote attributed to the head coach appeared in a story on the athletics department's front page:

"It'd be a great time to come to Auburn," Malzahn said. "I really believe these next three or four years are fixing to be our best years we've had. The way everything is set up with our staff and with our players, it's going to be really exciting. Our players are doing wonderful in the classroom, off the field, and had a great spring."

The best years they've had?

That feel-good story - under the headline "Malzahn excited about future of Auburn football" - appeared on the official AuburnTigers.com website Sunday, May 1, or the day after those players were popped for misdemeanor marijuana possession.

Now, if Malzahn keeps his disciplinary decisions as close to his sweater vest as usual, we can spend the entire summer debating whether they'll be on the field for the first series in the opener against Clemson.

The arrests came on the heels of a blah NFL draft, in which no Tiger was selected in the first two rounds and only three were tapped overall. If that weren't enough, two players who could've stayed in school weren't drafted at all, although Peyton Barber and Avery Young both signed free-agent deals.

Recruiting for the 2017 class hasn't taken off yet, either. Ten SEC schools have more commitments at the moment than Auburn's three, which is tied with Ole Miss and Missouri and ahead of only Vandy.

So the first day of May didn't exactly give the impression that Auburn is preparing to launch a comeback season for the ages as it did in 2013. Instead, it looks like Malzahn and company are still pushing a big rock up a steep hill.